COMPUTER terminals put inside 650 branches of the Halifax are proving a smash hit with customers.

They are logging on to the bank's online services 250,000 times a month.

The service is aimed at customers who do not have internet access at home or work and those who want to access their account during their lunch break.

The most popular sites are the Halifax's home page, from which users can go on to look at details of all of Halifax's products and services, and the online banking facility, which customers can use to transfer funds between accounts, pay bills and check balances.

Customers using the Click And Call units log on most frequently around midday, with a large number also using the service first thing in the morning. The most popular days are Mondays and Fridays.

Halifax is also supporting two internet-based research projects by the Hansard Society in Sheffield. These involve encouraging the elderly and those on low incomes to use the Click And Call units at three of the bank's Sheffield branches.

Adrian Spratt, a 25-year-old computer sales adviser, is at ease with the internet. But even he finds the Halifax branch service useful.

"If there's a queue at the cashpoint, I can always check my balance on the terminal or use it to pay bills.